


Love Circle

by Faith280



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 20:18:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17535533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faith280/pseuds/Faith280
Summary: Simmons had great expectations for his newly married life. He had the guy he loved, new job promotions, planning a family...an all around busy life. While Grif...was busy bring Grif. Can the two work out their problems and finally live happily ever after?





	1. 1

Love Circle

Chapter 1

“Hey Grif, come check this out.”

  
“I don’t care.”

On days like this, Grif reconsidered ever marrying Simmons. He should have known better, but damnit, he loved that loser; most of the time.

  
Simmons shot him a hurt look. Grif sighed, he knew he was beat. Simmons always knew the passive aggressive way to win an argument against him. Simmons never played fair.

  
“What, I’m busy over here.”

  
“Oh yeah, with what?”

  
“Stuff…” He couldn’t even make something up. “Well, what do you want?”

  
“After many failed attempts, I managed to graft together three different strains of hybrid tomatoes to create one ‘super tomato’.”

  
It went over Grif’s head. “Uh-Uh, what does it taste like?”

  
“A tomato.”

  
“So then what was the point. You take three plants to only make one, why not just use one of the originals and save time.”

  
Ugh, “No, you don’t understand, none of the originals could survive this harsh environment, but this one can. I created a whole new species. Here, try one.”

  
“What’s it taste like?”

  
“A tomato.”

  
“Gross, if it’s still tomato flavored, I pass. Now if you create an Oreo flavored one, I’m your guy.”

  
“Good god, why do I even try?”

  
Grif stopped listening, he already took off.

Getting married wasn’t what Simmons thought it would be. He wasn’t expecting a miracle that Grif could totally change and be a perfect husband; he knew that could never happen. He hoped Grif could be more motivated, to just want to do…something, but no.

  
So far their honeymoon has consisted of Simmons slaving away in his vegetable garden and getting a second degree sunburn.

Grif wasted it on drinking beer and soaking his feet in a kiddie pool.

“Some fun this is. The damn honeymoon ended on the honeymoon.” Simmons grumbled as he put away his shovel and went to wash up some vegetables for supper.

  
With his arms full of produce, he tried to make it back to the base without dropping any. He was proud of himself, he can do this, almost to the porch now. Yeah, just as he thought, Grif was sitting half asleep on the porch drinking a beer. How typical

Simmons stormed past him.  
He purposely almost dropped some vegetables in front of Grif, hoping he’ll get the hint to lend a hand.

Yeah right, he didn’t budge off his chair. Simmons struggled to open the door, still Grif didn’t move.

  
“Fine, be that way.” Simmons slammed the door shut as hard as he could. Now Grif paid attention. He could hear every cupboard and drawer being slammed in the kitchen all the way from outside.

  
“Oh shit, here we go again, go figure.”

  
He walked into the kitchen just in time to see Simmons aggressively cutting a cabbage in half.

“Hey, are you pretending that’s my head you’re cutting up there?”

Grif’s way was to joke Simmons out of his bad moods. It usually worked, Simmons never had the heart to stay mad at him long, especially when Grif acted adorable like that…except for today.

  
“I have thought about it once or twice.”

  
Grif stood right behind him, but he wouldn’t even turn around. He reached out to touch his shoulder, but he flinched away.

“Great, I am really in trouble. All this drama just because I don’t like tomatoes?”

  
Simmons threw down his knife on the counter. “Oh lord, who cares about stupid tomatoes? You don’t get it, you never do.”

  
“Get what? Can you give me a hint about what we’re fighting about?”

  
Ugh, “Never mind, go back to your beer, everything’s fine.”

“Getting married was supposed to bring us closer together, not drive us apart. This was supposed to fix things.”

  
“There’s nothing wrong to fix. You’re off doing your garden thing, I’m off doing my retirement thing, we’re supposed to be happy. You knew this is how I am, I can’t change, you accepted this about me. What is so wrong with that?”

  
It made Simmons think. Grif always was the lazy slacker, he could create any scheme needed to get out of work, it was his trademark.

Simmons was always the suck up, overachiever. They were complete opposites. That was why the relationship worked. It wasn’t fair for Simmons to expect Grif to change for him.

Deep down, would he want him to? No, he truly loved him for who he is.

  
“No, nothing is wrong.” He said it more genuinely this time. “I’ll start on dinner. You can go back to whatever you were or weren’t doing.”

  
It wasn’t worth fighting over.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Grif stretched in bed, trying to wake up. He noticed Simmons’s side was empty and the bed was partially made.

He was always psycho about making the bed. If he could, he would shove Grif out just so he could make the whole thing and be done with it.

While heading to the kitchen, he saw Simmons was already at work on his computer.

  
“Man, what time did you get up, isn’t it still early?”

  
He barely looked up from the screen. “Sure, it’s only noon, I’m surprised you’re up this early. I’ve been up since seven, with all your snoring, I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

  
“Huh, it doesn’t feel that late. You’re seriously working already, it’s a vacation you know. You’re such a nerd.”

  
“Of course I’m working. I’m sending my gardening report back to Chorus, to Emily Grey. Oh, it’s going to look great in spreadsheets.”

  
Yeah, a total nerd. “Who is Emily?” Grif was still half asleep and not really listening.

  
“Dr. Grey, you remember her. She’s the doctor who saved Wash’s life when he got shot.”

  
“Oh yeah, her. The psycho doctor.”

  
Simmons thought about it for a second. “Yes, I guess that’s true. She has calmed down a lot since the war ended. She’s also an amateur botanist. She’s interested in my work. We’re thinking about working together on further analysis when we go back to Chorus in a few weeks.”

  
“What, why do we have to go back? I’m enjoying my retirement.”

  
“That’s exactly why, you need to do something with your life. There’s a lot to choose from on Chorus. You don’t have to have a military career if you don’t want to.”

  
“That’s all I know how to do anymore and I don’t do that well. Why can’t we just stay here?”

  
“Because even if you don’t want to, I still need to work, that’s why.”

  
“Hey, just for the record, I have several projects I’m working on myself.”

  
“Uh-Uh, So that’s how you got the invisible splinter in your hand that conviently got you out of washing dishes last night?”

  
“Hell yeah, that sucker hurt. I needed a tourniquet by the time I got it out. I’m now badly scarred for life.”

  
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll live. If I don’t kill you first.”

  
“Why do you automatically get to decide for both of us where we live?”

  
“Oh quit whining, we have two more weeks to decide. We’ll both figure it out together, so just behave.” He wasn’t bothered enough to even step away from his computer.

  
Yeah, I can see where I count around here. His precious flowcharts and graphs are more important to him than me. He’s getting so bossy, he’s acting just like Sarge did. I liked him better when he knew how to chill out and have fun. I miss it; I miss him.

  
He went to the kitchen and poured a bowl of cereal. It was all he knew how to easily make. Heaven help it if he messed up Simmons’ perfect kitchen. He had it arranged the way he liked it, if anything was moved out of place, he threw a fit.

  
When they first moved into the base, Grif tried to help with the cleaning, but nothing was good enough. Simmons would thank him for helping and then go and fix it the way it should be done.

Grif passed it over with a sarcastic comment, acted like he didn’t care, but it hurt his feelings. Getting treated like that by Sarge was one thing, but with Simmons it was different. He teased him and gave him a hard time at every opportunity, but Grif truly loved him. He would do anything for him… it never seemed to matter.

  
He drowned out his sorrow on some sugary cereal, spilling some on the floor in the process.That was his way to deal with stress.

Simmons liked to yell a lot, Grif was an emotional eater. He went to check on his toast, it seemed to be taking too long.

“Shit, it’s all burnt.” The smoke detector started blaring away. At least it got Simmons away from his work.

  
“Damnit Grif, what did you do?” He struggled to turn off the screeching machine. “Are you burning down the base?”

  
“Nope, just making toast.”

  
“And that requires this much noise?”

  
“Yeah, the toast isn’t ready until the detector goes off. Duh, everyone knows that.” He dropped the dark toast onto a plate. “See, all done.”

  
Simmons had to smile. No matter how annoying Grif was, he secretly liked it. He always had. Grif was the whole reason the Army was bearable. How could Simmons make it through without him; he couldn’t.

  
Grif’s mission was accomplished, he loved to see Simmons smile. It made him feel that everything was okay. Even if he wasn’t the center of Simmons’ attention right now, he still loved him. Grif could handle that.

  
He grabbed his breakfast dishes and went to watch some television while he ate. He wanted to make a quick getaway before Simmons noticed the mess in the kitchen…

 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Damnit Grif, you’re supposed to be packed already. You know we’re leaving early in the morning,”

  
“Yeah, I meant to, but I lost track of time.”

  
“How can you lose time when you have nothing else to do with your time?”

  
“It’s a rare talent, doing nothing is hard work.”

  
“Well I wouldn’t know anything about that. I always have to do everything.

  
“All right chill out, I’ll be packed in five minutes.”

  
Simmons glanced around the room. Grif’s closet was overflowing with clothes. There were empty food containers thrown about and dishes left out so long they were growing mold. He was too afraid to even touch anything on Grif’s side of the room. Who knew what you would find. How the hell could he live like this?

  
“If you had five days, you couldn’t possibly pull this off. God, give me the suitcase, I’ll do it.”

  
“Well… if you’re sure.” He could hardly hold back an evil grin. “Here, If you need help, I’ll be in the kitchen making sure all the snacks got packed up. See ya in an hour.”

  
I hate him so much sometimes. I fall for this shit all the time. As much as he hated it, he finished Grif’s work for him. It was easier that way. He tried to pack semi neat for Grif, though he never cared about stuff like that. Grif’s way to pack was to shove everything into a garbage bag and call it done.

Simmons’ own suitcase was packed hours ago, everything folded pristinely and well organized.

He had a meeting planned with Dr. Grey shortly after landing, he wanted his unpacking to go as quickly as possible.

  
It was already getting late, he needed to get to bed soon. Space travel always took a lot out of him, he hated it. His paralyzing fear of heights always kicked in. He had gotten a lot better with it than he used to, but his mind still knew how high up he was.

What was taking Grif so long? He found him lounging on the couch, playing a video game and snacking on a package of Oreos.

  
“Hey, it’s getting late, we got a long trip tomorrow. I’m going to bed, you want to join me?”

  
“Sure, in a minute, I’m almost through this level. I wanted to finish off these cookies. There wasn’t enough room to pack them up.”

  
Simmons sighed and shook his head; how typical of Grif. “Okay, I’ll wait up for you. Don’t take too long,”

  
“No I won’t, I promise.”

  
Simmons went and stretched out on the bed, expecting Grif to come in any second. He dozed off while waiting, but still no Grif. He jumped awake and looked at the clock, it was 3 am. Grif’s side of the bed was still untouched.

  
“Where the hell is he?”

  
He went to the living room. Grif was passed out on the couch, snoring like crazy with the TV left on. The package of Oreos was still in his hands.

  
“Great, glad you wanted to spend time with me.” He covered him up with a blanket and went back to bed alone.

  
At some point, despite his loneliness, he fell back asleep. He woke up in time to realize his alarm never went off. They had a whole twenty minutes to catch the flight home.

  
“Shit, it’ll take me that long to wake Grif up, let alone make that flight.”

  
He found Grif still fast asleep on the couch. “Grif, wake up, I’m serious, we slept in. We have to make our flight.”

  
Grif didn’t want to move. “I don’t care, let’s miss it. We don’t even need to leave.”

  
“You can’t do that to me, I have plans with Dr. Grey later, it’s really important to me. I have to make this flight.”

  
Grif grumbled under his breath. “I see, it’s more important than I am.”

He did manage to move faster, and they made the ship with seconds to spare.

  
Grif was still ticked off. “You happy now loser?”

  
Simmons didn’t even answer, he was in no mood for an argument when he hated flying as it was. He braced himself for the flight and hoped he wouldn’t get air sick.

Grif glanced over at him once in a while. He got concerned, judging by the terrified look on Simmons’ face, he wasn’t handling the traveling well.

  
“You Okay over there dude?”

  
Simmons was too afraid to answer. His voice was shaky. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  
“Uh, sure you are, you liar.”

  
“All right…I’m going to be sick.”

  
“Oh boy, that’s what I thought. Just breathe, we’ll be there soon, you’re doing fine.”

  
He put his arm around him and held him. Simmons put his head on Grif’s shoulder and prayed they would land soon.

Grif loved these little moments when it was just the two of them. It was old times. Now that they were back in Chorus…what would happen to the two of them?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Jeez, this place hasn’t changed a bit.”

  
“It’s only been a month, how much did you expect it to?”

  
“I dunno, I didn’t expect to ever be back.”

  
“Captain Grif, Captain Grif, I can’t believe it’s you! I missed you so much.”

  
Grif glared at Simmons. “And you wondered why I didn’t want to come back, damn you.”

  
He turned to the tan and yellow solider. “Go away Matthews, I hate you.”

  
Matthews laughed. “Aww, you’re such a good comedian sir. It’s good to have you back. I’m ready and awaiting your orders sir.” He had a hold of Grif’s arm and wouldn’t let go.

  
Though he was amused by the spectacle, Simmons didn’t have the heart to let Grif suffer. He pretended to be checking a Mainframe computer.

“Hey ‘Captain’ we got…something…that we need your expertise on. Come and help me out.”

  
Grif struggled to get his arm free and tried to make his way over. Unfortunately Matthews still couldn’t take the hint.

“I’ll be waiting to talk to you later sir. It will be an honor to serve with you, just like old times.”

  
“Yeah yeah, I can’t wait, you idiot.”

  
“What did he mean by that, you hated being in the military.”

  
“I do, but I figured I should join back in and help out for a while. See, I told you I was working on stuff.”

  
“Funny how you never told me any of this. That’s really great, I knew you were missing all this.”

  
“I wouldn’t go that far, but I sorta missed these idiots. I’ll try it again for a while.”

  
“ I have my big meeting coming up, are you going to be okay here by yourself?”

  
“Hell yeah, I’m going to be meeting up with Tucker. I’ll be helping him train the new recruits. So now I have to figure out how to help him without actually having to do anything. It’s a good challenge, Tucker’s not as guillable as you are, but I can pull it off.”

  
At least he seemed happy. Later when Simmons came back, he found him having coffee with Tucker and goofing around like they always used to.

It was good to see that nothing changed. Simmons wanted to make sure Grif heard his good news first.

  
“Oh my god Grif, you should have been there. Dr. Grey may be loony, but she’s a total genius. She loved my spreadsheets and the slideshow presentation. She says I have real potential.”

  
Grif was jealous, but didn’t even know why. He didn’t like Simmons hanging around her.

“I’m glad someone liked it. Congratulations, you found someone who’s a bigger loser than you. I’m happy for you.”

  
Simmons’ feelings were crushed. “You know, I worked really hard on this. You could at least be supportive of me.”

  
“We’re just talking a vegetable garden here, it’s not exactly world peace.”

Grif didn’t want to hurt him, but he couldn’t stop the words from coming out.

  
“Fine, you may feel that way, but Emily doesn’t. If these new strains of vegetables work out, it could help end hunger and help pioneer life on other planets, so yes, this could be a big thing.”

  
“You’re always talking about ‘Emily’ all the time. You can’t even talk to girls. Your whole damn squad of soldiers are girls and you stutter and hyperventilate every time you try to give them orders.”

  
“Oh shut up, I do not. I’ve gotten better at that. Emily is different from them, I have no trouble talking to her. At least she believes in me, which is more than you do.” He was pissed and left.

  
Tucker was having fun watching the show. “Woah, trouble in paradise there Grif?”

  
“Shut up Tucker, I’m in no mood for your shit.”

  
“Wow, I thought you two would last forever, look how quickly you were replaced.”

  
“You’re one to talk. Didn’t my sister dump you for an idiot on your squad? Yeah, wasn’t it Palomo, and isn’t he supposed to be the younger, more stupid version of you?” He didn’t care if hurt Tucker’s feelings.

  
He did strike a nerve. “All right, we’re even now. Anyway, my breakup was a blessing, yours would be a disaster. Wash turned out to be exactly what I needed and I didn’t know it. Even though I’m mad at him for going on that diplomatic mission to the Capital. But Simmons is the one for you. You two are meant for each other. Don’t screw it up.”

  
He knew it was the truth. “Way to make me feel better. Why do I always manage to screw things up? Now I got to figure out how to apologize to him.”

  
I just hope I’m not too late.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“Ohhh, this is so exciting! These seeds you collected look great. I have a makeshift greenhouse made up back in my lab. We’re going to have a lovely little garden growing in here before you know it!”

  
Dr. Grey was very perky by nature, but when she got excited, it was a mile a minute. Simmons’ head was spinning, no way could he keep up with her. He never could get much said in their conversations, that was why she was so easy to talk to. She never made him nervous the way other girls made him feel.

  
On the other hand, her energy was overwhelming. If he had to put up with her all day, he’d go crazy. In not even an hour, he felt the beginnings of a migraine.

She was so cute and friendly that he felt guilty about wanting to leave so soon. This was another reason he loved Grif, he was calm and easygoing.

  
“Oh yeah, that’s great…”

  
She cut him off to go onto another subject. “Besides the veggie garden, I got a couple of other little projects going on. One experiment idea was taken from Tucker.”

  
“Really? I didn’t realize he was interested in anything science related.”

  
“Well not really, but it is based off of how a few years back, he gave birth to an alien baby. That’s a scientific first.”

  
“Are you trying to raise alien babies?” He was all confused.

  
Grey laughed. This was why she liked Simmons, he was so smart and so stupid both at the same time.

  
“No, I’m making it possible for men to have children. Human children, not aliens. I have the prototype figured out, now all I need is a test subject.”

  
“That sounds gruesome.”

  
“No it’s not. It’s intended for male couples to be able to have their own natural children. This way the kids are totally theirs.”

  
“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

  
“Yes, it’s very natural.”

  
He still felt she was more than a little crazy, but who was he to judge science.

  
“Good luck finding your subjects. Damn, it’s getting late, Grif’ll be pissed. He gets grumpy this close to meal time and if I’m not there, he’ll eat everything in sight, and there goes all our rations.”

  
“You know, you two are very different. With as intelligent as you are, I’m surprised you didn’t pick someone more…intellectual.”

  
She moved in closer to him as she said it, hoping he would take the hint. Simmons being Simmons, it went right over his head. Being this close to a girl always did that to him. He was so clueless. As usual, all his focus went straight to Grif.

  
“Tell me about it, sometimes I don’t even think we’re the same species. He has more in common with a sloth than he does a human.”

  
From the doorway, Grif was watching the pathetic scene. He suspected for a while now that the doctor had a crush on Simmons. He was such a clueless nerd, why would she be interested in him?

Grif had often gone out of way to keep the two separated, just in case. Still, he could trust his husband couldn’t he?

But now nothing was keeping him away from her continual flirting. What Grif needed was a distraction. Anything would work, this was Grif’s specialty.

  
Just as he was about to act, Simmons made his crack about how lazy Grif is. Everybody knew it, Grif willingly admitted it, Simmons teased him everyday about it. But something was different, the way Simmons said it, why did it hurt Grif’s feelings?

Man this sucks, Simmons was special, he didn’t want to lose him this way.

  
Before he fully realized it, he bumped into a counter that held a variety of different jars and vials. Nothing broke, but several were in danger of falling over. The sudden noise did the trick though, Dr. Grey forgot all about Simmons. Ha mission accomplished.

  
“Oops, didn’t see that sitting there, sorry.” Not sorry. “I can fix those.”

  
“Uhh no, don’t worry about it. Nothing’s broken, all easy peezy.”  
God, she was so perky and optimistic, it nauseated Grif. How could Simmons stand this woman?

  
Dr. Grey may not have thought anything of it, but Simmons knew Grif too well. He was up to something.

“Do you have a particular reason to be here, or did you just want to wreck up the place?” He was so embarrassing.

  
Again, the comment hurt his feelings. “All I wanted was to see was if you wanted to go out for dinner. You’ve been working all day, I figured you wouldn’t feel like cooking, and you know I’m not good at it. So I figured we could go out together.”

  
Simmons was taken aback for a second. This was surprisingly unselfishly him. “Sure, that’s a great idea. I’ll go get ready.”

  
Inside, Grif was gloating. Who cared about how many fancy degrees she had or high her IQ, Simmons would Grif over her any day. Nothing could break them up, could it?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

  
“You know what Simmons, I could get used to this.” Grif started out of the blue.

  
“Used to what?”

  
“Being a Captain, living a military paradise, being spoiled and adored by my meager subjects. All I have to do is sit back and relax and make them do all the hard stuff. This job was made for me.”

  
“No, the best part of being a Captain is following strict rules, having structure in your life, and good planning skills. It’s so rewarding.”

  
“Exactly, I love seeing my soldiers obediently following my commands.”

  
“No, I was talking about you following those rules.”

  
“Hell no!”

  
“Yep that’s what I thought. You’re still the worst manager ever, of all time.”

  
“Hey, as long as i don’t have to do the work, who cares.”

  
It was nice to have these little moments where they could joke around and make fun of life like they used to. But life kept getting in the way. They rarely had any quality time together. It was bothering Simmons, he was so afraid they would grow apart.

  
Most of his day was spent between working with Dr. Grey and helping out in the armory. Grif spent his time hanging out with Tucker and pretending to be training the new soldiers.

  
Simmons hated the hours he was stuck with the doctor listening to all of her crackpot ideas and inventions.

At first he thought it was neat hanging out with someone he felt was more to his own intelligence level. It wore off fast, she was super annoying.

  
He would never admit it, but although the guys drove him insane, he missed all the crazy adventures they had together. They were his friends, the only actual friends he ever had. Most importantly, without it, he never would have met Grif.

  
What would happen if he lost him? He used to think being rid of Grif would be a miracle. He tried for years to be rid of him, even tried to defect to the Blue team, but no, Grif was always there.

Not all too long ago, Grif had a mental breakdown and left the group.

  
The one time Simmons wanted him around, he was gone. It was a horrible mission until Grif showed back up. He always came back.

But what if one time he didn’t? He was the only person Simmons ever truly loved. He had to strengthen this marriage.

  
He was spacing out when he supposed to analyzing a sample of potting soil. He loved this work, but it was awfully boring. An idea struck him from out of nowhere. He knew what he had to do, he had to talk to Dr. Grey.

  
“You still haven’t found anyone willing to try out that baby procedure of yours?”

  
“Sadly no, this isn’t the kind of test most men would go for.”

  
This was totally crazy. “Hmm, interesting. I need to talk over some things with Grif, you may have a test subject.” Now, how do I break this news to him?

  
“ No freaking way! It’s never going to happen, so get the idea out of your head!”

  
Yeah, it was the reaction he expected. “Why won’t you even discuss it?”

  
“I don’t know anything about kids except that I can’t stand them. You don’t have any experience with them either. Why the hell do you want one?”

  
“Because…I’m afraid we’re growing apart and I don’t want to let that happen. A baby would help bring us together.”

  
“It would drive us apart, you know it would. There’s nothing wrong with this marriage, we’re both happy. My parents made that same mistake and it turned all to shit.”

  
“You’re just scared, take a chance. This is an experimental procedure, it could be my big moment.”

  
“And that’s my second point, ‘experimental’. You don’t know what could happen. For all you know, this could kill you.”

  
Simmons went quiet for a second. That thought had crossed his mind, though he was trying to ignore it.

“All my life, I was passed over. Never had any friends, no girls paid attention to me, that’s why I always studied so hard, that’s why I always kissed up to authority, so I could be something. That’s why this is so important. The baby would need me, I would be important.”

  
“Funny, I loved you from the first moment I saw you, trapped on a bridge in paralyzed fear. You were always important to me…guess that wasn’t enough.”

  
“No, that’s not it at all, you know how much I love you. Can’t we at least try, just once. Grey is a total mad scientist, so when it doesn’t work, I’ll never bring it up again.”

  
That was Simmons’ most popular way to win arguments; whine until Grif gave in. He saw that’s where the argument was headed, so he figured he better give up.

  
“Fine, one time. After that, if you still want kids, we’re getting a dog.”

  
“That’s fair.” He went over to hug Grif, but he backed away.

  
“I’m not exactly mad, but just stay away from me for a while. I’m not ready to forgive you yet.”  



	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Come on Grif, stop it. You’re acting like a baby. The needle will only hurt for a minute.

  
“Bullshit, not with that size. What’s it for anyway, an elephant? I’m going to need a blood transfusion by the time I’m done.”

  
Dr. Grey slammed in her way in through the door, startling both Grif and Simmons. “All rightee, where’s the patient? Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit.” She held the needle in her hand like it was a dagger.

  
“Oh god, it’s the crazy lady. Keep her away from me.” Grif didn’t want to be there, and was going to be as melodramatic as possible.

  
He was embarrassing Simmons. “Grif stop it. This is the last thing you have to do, then you can go back to doing nothing.”

  
“I won’t survive it, I hate needles.”

  
“Maybe if you’re a good little boy and behave yourself, you’ll get a lollipop.” He was being as sarcastic as he could get.

  
“There’s really lollipops?” While he was distracted, Grey got her blood sample. “Oww, that hurt.”

  
“There now, all done boys.”

  
“See, you happy now, you idiot?”

  
“No, I didn’t get the lollipop. I knew it was a trick.”

  
“Any amputations or lobotomies for you today? I have some free time.”

  
Sometimes she really scared Simmons. Was she serious or only joking around, you couldn’t tell. “No, I think we’re good…” Grif flinched and backed toward the door.

  
“Suit yourself. Simmons I will be seeing you tomorrow morning, and we’ll see what happens.”

  
He was distracted and only nodded to her.They didn’t say much as they went back to their room. They haven’t spoken much at all in the last few days.

Maybe Grif was right, maybe a baby would ruin everything. The closer it got to being reality, the more second thoughts he had.

  
Grif powered up the old X-box machine and settled down on the couch. Simmons missed the all night gaming marathons they used to have. Grif threw one of the controllers at him. “Let’s see who can shoot down more aliens.”

  
“Well obviously I will. I always win, you know that.”

  
“That’s ‘cause you always cheat.”

  
“No, it’s because you’re a sore loser.”

  
Simmons won every round, and Grif practically broke his controller while throwing it across the room. It was like old times.

Before they knew it, it was 2am and Simmons fell asleep with his head on Grif’s shoulder. Being so careful not to wake him, Grif turned off the X-box and the two spent the night on the couch.

  
Simmons woke up pretty early. He was so stiff from sleeping on the couch. Grif was nowhere around. He probably went to bed sometime during the night. But surprise, he was already in the kitchen downing a cup of coffee.

  
“Wow, you’re up early.”

  
“Yeah, too early. We need a new couch, even I can’t sleep on it, especially when a certain person sleeps on me all night.”

  
“You mean you stayed there all night?”

  
“Yeah, you looked too peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you up. Anyway, you fell asleep before the last game ended so I got to win. And winning the last game means I call dibs on the whole tournament.”

  
“Since when?”

  
“Since always.”

  
He tripped over a small duffel bag. “Why is your range bag sitting in the middle of the floor?”

  
“I’m up for range practice with the recruits. Tucker got orders from Wash that he actually expects me to work. He’s so mean”

  
“So I take it you don’t want to go with me this morning.”

  
He was rummaging through the refrigerator. “Go where?”

  
Simmons sighed and shook his head. “Nowhere. Why are you making a bologna sandwich for breakfast?”

  
“Breakfast was crackers and canned cheese, this is for later at the range. Who knows how long I’ll be there. I can’t believe we’re out of mayo.”

  
“That’s like half a jar you have on that sandwich, that’s disgusting.”

  
Grif wasn’t listening. He packed his sandwich with a bag of potato chips and his last package of Oreos, all in his range bag.

  
“Shouldn’t that bag be for your gun and ammo?”

  
“If there’s room I’ll fit them in, it’s priorities man. The food is important.”

  
He was a lost cause, Simmons had more important stuff to do. “Well, wish me luck. I don’t know what to expect.”

  
Grif kind of stiffened up a little. “Oh yeah… that. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” As he headed out the door.

  
Yeah, but will we?  
  



	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

  
“Hey, thank goodness you’re rejoining is at practice. I was soo sick of hearing Tucker’s mouth day after day.”

  
Tucker shot Grif a dirty look.

  
“Well, now that Donut’s back to working part time at the armory and the prototype garden is underway, I have more free time.”

  
“Great, now I have to listen to a nerd and a moron all day long.”

  
Tucker said it with a smile. He would never admit it, but it was good to joke around with the old gang again. He tried not to care; it wasn’t any of his business, but he knew something was wrong between those two.

He knew for years how in love they were with each other, but they were both too stubborn to admit it. And they were both stupid enough to totally ruin a great relationship. At least they were okay now.

  
Grif was all excited. “You know, you should come with us on our next field test. It would be like old times, except that we now know how to fight…sorta. You can act like Sarge and boss around the new recruits. And I’ll be there to be all sarcastic and piss you off like I always do. Such fun times.”

  
“As tempting as that sounds, I better wait before heading out to god knows where with whatever we’re calling troops. At least until I find out whatever’s going on.”

  
Tucker was only half listening, he really didn’t care. “About what?”

  
“About the baby we were trying to have.”

  
Now he had Tucker’s attention.

“Ah, So that’s what’s going on.”

  
Grif was embarrassed. “Why did you go and tell him that? This was private.”

  
“Why wouldn’t you want to tell me? How is that even possible?”

  
“Dr. Grey came up with a way for guys to have kids, based off how you Junior.”

  
“Wow, I’m famous. But why do you want to do that, trust me, it ain’t pleasant.”

  
“Because he’s insane enough to listen to the psychotic doctor. And It didn’t work out anyway.”

  
“How do you know?”

  
“It’s been almost two weeks. You haven’t had any symptoms, signs, nothing. Face it, it didn’t work. You tried, but we all knew it wouldn’t work out.”

  
Tucker felt he needed to be the voice of reasoning since Wash wasn’t around to do it . What would Wash say to them?

“Grif, you’re being awfully harsh. I know how both of you are feeling about this…”

  
“Butt out Tucker. This is family business.”

  
His ego was bruised. “Fine, I’m gone.”

  
Simmons got awfully quiet. “Okay, you were right and I was wrong. I never should have forced you into this in the first place. I knew it wouldn’t work, I just hoped it would. I didn’t want to lose you.”

  
“What the hell did you lose, I’m still here, aren’t I? Why don’t we take a vacation, a kind of second honeymoon, and start over. Maybe one day we can adopt a kid. Right now just isn’t the right time.”

  
“Yeah, you’re right…” He turned awfully pale.

  
“Are you Okay?”

  
“I will be, all the stress and worrying, it got to me.”

Everything went dark.  
Grif caught him right before he hit the ground.  
  



	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

  
Simmons jumped awake. Where the hell am I? This place looked familiar. He was lying on a cot with a cold cloth on his forehead. It was Dr. Grey’s office.What happened?

  
“Oh hey, you’re finally awake. I was about to be worried, but I figured worst case scenario, I could perform your autopsy for you. So either way, it’s fun for me.”

  
Oh god. “What happened, how did I get here?”

  
“Grif and Tucker brought you in. Grif was all worried about you. He said something about too much stress catching up with you, and you passed out. Figured you could use a good rest, and you had a nice little nap.”

  
“Yeah, most of my stress comes from hanging around with those two idiots. I’m fine now.” He got up to leave.

  
She held him back. “Are you sure it was only from stress?”

  
He groaned. “Of course it is. The procedure never took, I didn’t think it would. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

  
“Give me five minutes, I’m finishing up analyzing your blood sample. I’ll be able to tell you what is really wrong. Stress can kill you same as anything else.”

She disappeared to her lab.  
Oh lord, I just want to go home. But he laid there and waited for her to come back.

He could hear her ear piercing shriek all the way from the lab. Now what was wrong? He got up to make sure she was okay.

  
“Oh my god, it worked. I am a genius, more so than I already knew of course.”

  
“What are you rambling about?”  
“Positive result, you guys are having a baby.”

  
“No way.”

  
“Yes way. I told you I knew what I was doing. You didn’t believe, but here’s the results.”

  
He had no idea what he was even looking at, so he had to take her word on it. He was in shock, he didn’t know what to feel. He spent so long assuming it wouldn’t work.

The shock turned to dread, how the hell can he   
tell Grif about the baby? He hadn’t wanted it from the start.

Damnit, this seriously could break them up, why did he even do it?  
The nervousness must have shone on his face.

Grey seemed to understand what he was thinking, understood how he felt. It felt so creepy, like she could read his mind. Who knows, maybe she could.

  
“Simmons, do you realize how important this baby is? This is a major breakthrough for the medical field. Do you realize how important you are? You deserve better than being stuck with such an uncouth moron as Dexter Grif.”

  
With no warning, she grabbed ahold of him and forced him into a long, passionate kiss. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he had no choice but to push her away so he could break out of her embrace.

  
Silently from the waiting room a figure had come into view. Grif had heard all the commotion and needed to see if his husband was okay.

He clearly heard Grey’s moron comment, it didn’t hurt his feelings, he was used to being called names. But when she kissed Simmons…he had to leave, he didn’t trust himself to stay.

  
Simmons stammered as he tried to recover from her kiss.

“What are you thinking about? That ‘moron’ is my husband, the best friend I ever had. Who cares about being important to you, I’ve always been important to him.” Damn, I never even realized it.

  
Grey was embarrassed. “I know, I know, I’m sorry. I got way too excited over the baby. With the way you two have been arguing, I thought maybe you would be available. Go and tell him about the baby, that will make it all better.”

  
“I doubt it, it will only make it worse.”

  
“Judging by how worried he looked when he brought you in, I seriously doubt that.”

  
He felt a little better. When she calmed down, the Doctor could almost act like a sane human being. All the way home, he tried to figure out the best way to tell Grif he was going to be a father. Oh lord, this is going to be horrible.

  
When he got home, everything was quiet, he expected Grif would be waiting to see him. He was kind of disappointed. He did see something on the table, it looked like a note.

And there was Grif’s wedding ring beside it, what the hell was that idiot doing now? The note was so scribbled he could hardly read it. Grif was known for his bad hand writing, but this was horrible.

  
When Simmons could make out the brief words on the note, it felt like his heart stopped beating.

“I’m sorry, I tried to make you happy. Guess I failed like with everything else, big surprise. You know Grey was right, you deserve better than a moron like me, you’re special. I’ll only hold you back, you need to move onto better things. At least with her, you can have all the kids you want. Consider this our divorce papers. Grif.”

  
You’ve got to be kidding me. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

  
Grif barged his way into the war room. “Hey Tucker, you got any missions going on? If you do, put my name on it. The further I get away from this hellhole the better.”

  
“What! You never volunteer for work.”

  
“Well, today I do. Anything, find it now. I want out of here. Did I stress the now part?”

  
Tucker was confused. He never saw Grif this upset before, he looked like he’d been crying.

“Okay, I was taking out a small squad out on a simulation field mission. But it’s a long assignment, we’re talking like a year. You’re married, I suggest waiting for a better mission.”

  
“I was married, it’s all past tense. Put my name on the assignment, I have nothing to lose now. That way you’ll be here to see Wash when he gets back. It’s a win-win for both of us.”

  
“What do you mean ‘was’ married? Where’s Simmons at, is he okay? Maybe I’ll get better answers from him.”

  
“Just butt out Tucker, he’s fine, he totally agrees to this. Can I have the damn assignment or not?”

  
Tucker sighed and gave up. He needed Wash to come home. “Fine man, if that’s what you want. Be stupid, see if I care. Sign this form and you’re in.”

  
Grif stormed out the door, leaving Tucker to wonder what the hell was going on. Wash left him charge, and he was going to be pissed when he found out how badly Tucker screwed everything up.

Should he try contacting him at the Capital? No, Wash was busy, Tucker needed to figure this out on his own. He needed to talk to Simmons, if something was wrong, he would tell Tucker. Simmons blabbed everything he knew eventually. Turned out, he didn’t have to wait too long.

  
“Tucker, did that idiot of mine come through here?”

  
“Yep, he was so upset he volunteered for a long training mission.”

  
“Holy shit, he never volunteers to do anything.”

  
“I know, right. He was acting really weird. You wanna tell me what’s been going on, Grif wasn’t being too clear on the details.”

  
It all seemed so stupid, but he was really gone. Simmons’ voice faltered. “Nothing…he never wanted this baby anyway. He’s mostly pissed off because he thinks I’ve been having an affair with Dr. Grey.”

  
“Why would he think that. Hell, even I wouldn’t date her, let alone you.”

  
“He saw us kissing and since we’ve been working together that’s what he thought.”

  
“Whoa, you kissed a woman, that’s so cool!”

  
“No, she kissed me.”

  
“Yeah, that sounds more accurate you nerd.”

  
“I didn’t think he’d actually leave over that. I’d never cheat on him with anybody, he knows that. Guess it was all for the best…especially now.”

  
“Hey wait a minute, what was that about a baby? Are you actually having one?”

  
“Yes, unfortunately, guess that was the other reason he wanted out.”

  
“Does he know about it?”

  
“No, he left before I could tell him.”

  
“Well then, there you go. He hasn’t left yet, I can call him back in. You can tell him about the baby, that’ll fix everything.”

  
“No, don’t you dare. I’ll manage just fine without him. I can raise this baby on my own. I’m used to handling everything by myself, this is no different.”

  
“Dude you have no idea how hard it is. I tried the whole single parent thing when I had Junior, it didn’t work out. You’re in for the most excruciating pain of your life. I don’t care how tough or how smart you think are, you can’t do this alone. You need Grif, that’s how you guys worked together for years. You two make a great team.”

  
“Butt out Tucker, it’s over with Grif, it’s been over for a while, he just wouldn’t admit it. I got this, I’ll be fine, by myself.”

  
Well shit, that didn’t work out. Wash, I need you.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

  
Time passed by slowly for both Grif and Simmons. Poor Grif was stuck with Matthews, who still idolized him to the point of insanity. It didn’t help that Matthews was the team’s designated ass kisser.

So much like a certain maroon solider that Grif had to pretend for years to merely tolerate and to eventually fall in love with. Every word out of the idiot’s mouth was another twist of the knife in Grif’s heart. He needed Simmons back, but was too proud to admit it.

  
What hurt the worst was that Simmons never tried to contact him, never tried to explain, never even said he loved him and wanted him back.

Grif would go back to him in a second. He wanted to, but stupid pride held him back.

  
Simmons was feeling it too. To think that Grif would think he could ever cheat on him. God, how well did they really know each other? Simmons didn’t know anything anymore.

For weeks, Simmons waited…for a phone call, e-mail, letter…anything from Grif, but got nothing. He gave up hope, their baby was all he had now, his only reason to go on.

  
Tucker tried to keep communication going between them. Discreetly and from a distance, he kept an eye on both of them. This whole fight was so stupid, he had to take one last try to get them back together.

  
He tried calling Grif up first. “Hey, you know what would be fun?”

  
“You leaving me alone?”

  
“No, how about I hand the phone over to your husband and you two can talk for a while. I’ll even pay for the long distance call. What do ya think?”

  
“I don’t have a husband anymore, he’s interested in other things. Anyway I thought you were broke from all the child support payments you got stuck with. So why don’t you stop bugging me?”

  
He was quiet for a second. “Fine, I tried. I’m sorry I’m not Wash.”

  
Grif felt bad for him, and god did he want to talk to Simmons. He choked back the tears he knew were coming. He’d never live it down if Tucker knew.

  
“Let it go, it’s over. I can’t make him love me when he doesn’t.” He hung up the phone so he could cry in private.

  
Tucker was so frustrated. Wash left him in charge. His first real chance to show him how far he’d come from the smart assed solider who made Wash’s leadership at Blue Base a living hell. He felt like a failure.

  
“Tucker, what’s wrong with you now?”

  
He jumped, he didn’t hear Simmons coming up behind him. “Nothing and everything. I don’t suppose I could interest you in a phone call to Grif and work out your problems?”

He had no strength left for schemes. He was doomed to fail anyway.

  
“Tucker, stop it. You were told before to butt out of it.”

  
“I can’t help it, I think of all you guys as my friends. We were all the loser’s club. I don’t want to see any of us fighting.”

  
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but some things you can’t fix. It wasn’t meant to be for us. You have to move on with your own life. Wash should be back soon, shouldn’t he?”

  
“Yeah, In about 2 months or so”

  
“There, when he comes back, you two can at least be happy. You’ll be able to bring Junior home, his training will be over by then. You three can a real family.”

  
“Yes, I guess so…I’m supposed to be one helping you and Grif, you’re not supposed to be cheering me up. Just wait, I’m determined to get you guys back together, now it’s a mission.”

  
Oh god, he’ll never give up. I’m so sick of Blue Team problems. I miss making fun of them with Grif. I want to call him, I want to tell him about the baby, but he hates me. Hope he’s happy wherever he is…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Hey Tucker, what’s been going on? In your last message you sounded pretty upset.”

  
The familiar voice made Tucker’s heart pound. He missed Wash so much. His excitement turned to dread, he had nothing but bad reports to give him about his soldiers.

“I didn’t think you’d be back till next week, I missed you so much. Just don’t hurt me when you hear how bad I screwed up.”

  
“I already some of it. Grif and Simmons are divorced and now we have a little kid hanging around the base. I’m gone a little less than a year, and all hell breaks loose.”

  
“It wasn’t my fault, it was total Red Team problem. Grif and Simmons are stupid. Neither one will talk to the other. You left me in charge and I screwed it all up.”

He was so ashamed to admit it.  
Surprisingly Wash didn’t look too upset, but he looked completely exhausted.

“Yeah, now you know how I’ve felt all these years trying to get authority over you idiots.” He smiled and Tucker and put his arm around him.

  
“All right, first you go find Grif and bring him home NOW. You can finish up whatever time he has left on the training simulator. I will talk to Simmons. You know how he is to authority, he’ll listen to anything I say. And for you, next time butt out of their personal problems, that way they won’t see it as a challenge to stay mad at each other.”

  
Tucker was crushed. He tried so hard. Wash laughed and gave him a hug.

“Take that look off your face, I still love you. You did a good job, I’m proud of you.” That was all Tucker needed to hear. Now he had to find Grif.

  
“Hi Grif, did you miss me?”

  
“No, not really.” He hoped it would be Simmons. “Why are you here? I still have a few weeks to go before the mission’s up.”

  
“New orders from Wash. Go home and make up with your family.”

  
“What family? My sister’s off doing her own thing, my parents abandoned me, and I have an ex who hates me.”

  
“You also have your son.”

  
“No, that disaster never took.”

  
“Are you so sure? Simmons gave birth to a boy about a week ago. He looks just like you, so I’m surprised he’s as cute as what he is.”

  
“God, why didn’t he even tell me? Simmons hates me, what do I do if the baby hates me too? I won’t be any good at this parent thing, I should stay where I am.”

  
“I doubt that. After I had Junior, I thought I didn’t want him, but then I saw him. He turned out to be the love of my life, and I wish I could have kept him. That’s how I know you’ll make an awesome dad. You’ll hate yourself if you don’t go.”

  
Since when did Tucker mature this much? “I guess you’re right. But what about Simmons, I bet he still hates me?”

  
“Yep, probably so. But he’ll forgive you, he always does.”

  
“I’ll never forgive him, not after the way he acted.”

Wash wasn’t having an easy time with Simmons.

  
“Did you ever even tell him about the baby?”

  
“What was the point, he never wanted him. Then he thought I was cheating on him, with Dr. Grey of all people. He didn’t even give me god chance to explain. So who needs him?”

  
“You need him, you know that.”

  
“Growing up, I had a terrible relationship with my father. I was a constant disappointment to him. That’s why I idolized Sarge the way I did. He was the father figure that accepted me. I don’t want my son growing up wondering why his father didn’t want him, so I’d rather the two of them didn’t meet.”

  
Wash choked back his own memories of his abusive father. He knew how Simmons felt.

“If Grif knows about the baby and still doesn’t want him, that’s one thing. But what if Grif does want him? Doesn’t Your son deserve to have both his parents, not just one?”

  
For once Simmons was quiet. “All right, I guess that’s fair. You do know that I still love Grif, don’t you?”

  
“Yeah, I know that.” He looked down at the baby who was sleeping away peacefully.

“You know, that little guy is really cute. Maybe one day I could go for something like that with Tucker. Who knows?”


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 

Grif dreaded walking through the door. He wanted to see Simmons yet he was afraid to see Simmons.

He wished he stayed at the damn camp. Even putting up with Matthews was better than this. From the bedroom, he heard the faint cry of a baby. Well, that’s who he came to see, he may as well get it over with.

  
In the corner of what once was their bedroom, there now stood a crib. There was the baby wrapped in a blue blanket. Grif couldn’t help it, he had to see him.

His own parents never took many baby photos of him. They hated him during every stage of his childhood. If he had a picture, he’d bet the two of them could pass as twins.

  
He saw the round, chubby face with a dimpled chin, and the wild black hair. His big brown eyes looked up at Grif as he smiled at him. Grif felt better all ready. He reached over to touch him, and he grabbed ahold of Grif’s finger and wouldn’t let go.

  
“Wow, I can’t believe you like me. Uncle Tucker was right, you do look like me.”

  
A sudden voice behind him ruined the moment. “Tell me about it. It’s hard to love someone so much that looks like someone you can’t stand.”

  
“Jesus, when did you sneak in?” His hopes were shattered by the deep frown in Simmons’ face. So much for being a happy family.

  
“I’ve been watching long enough. I’m only allowing near him because Wash asked me to.”

  
“What’s his name?”

  
Simmons sort of hesitated. “Dexter Richard. I named him after both of us, mainly you because of the resemblance.” He hated admitting that. He was still supposed to be mad at Grif.

  
Grif felt some sense of hope again. “Really, any chance of you forgiving me?”

  
“No way! You took off on me without a word. I really could of used you around the last couple of months.”

  
“I thought you had a girlfriend. I was trying to make it easier for you.”

  
“You are such an idiot. Do you seriously think I would cheat on you with anyone? You were the only one I ever loved…until you ruined it.”

  
“Fine, If you want me to leave, then I’m gone.” He had no intention of actually leaving. Would Simmons fall for his bluff?

  
“Good, leave, see if I care. We can do fine on our own.” He was trying to call Grif’s bluff without being the first to give in.

  
Uh-oh, Simmons wasn’t falling for it, his plan backfired. “Okay, See ya.”

  
He let go of the baby’s hand. Dexter started screaming, he wanted Grif to stay. At least he had one ally.

Simmons went to pick up the baby and try to comfort him. He was no match for two Grifs now.

  
“All right, enough of this crap you faker, we’re traumatizing the baby. You’re not going anywhere. Since Dexter seems to like you, you can stick around for a while. I can use extra help, he’s a lot more work than I first thought.”

  
He handed Dexter over to Grif so they could officially meet. Grif panicked and tried to back away.

“I never held a baby before, he’s still pretty small. I don’t want to hurt him.”

  
“Don’t worry, you won’t. He’s tougher than he looks.” When he handed to Grif, he calmed right down.

  
Simmons shook his head. “I can’t believe he likes you that much. It takes me forever to quiet him down.”

  
“I think I know why. He may look like me, but he acts like you. That’s why he’s so high strung.”

At least Simmons couldn’t hit him while he was holding the baby.

  
“You know I hate you sometimes.”  
“I know, it’s mutual. But I think in the end, we make a pretty good team. This guy proves it. Do you think he’s ready to play video games?”

  
Simmons rolled his eyes. “Give him a few more years, I know he’ll love it.”

  
“All rightee, in the meantime, I’ll teach him how to take naps. I’m still the champion at that.”  



End file.
